Menu

73 percent of terrorists convicted in the U.S. were foreign born: DHS report

Most people convicted of international terrorism in U.S. courts since 2001 were foreign born, the Trump administration said in a new report Tuesday that officials said boosts the president’s travel ban.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also had more than 2,500 encounters with people who appear on the FBI’s terrorist watch list in 2017, the administration said. And since 2001 deportation officers have ousted more than 1,700 foreigners over national security concerns.

He said there are “thousands of people” facing terrorism-related investigations right now.

The new report found at least 549 people convicted of international terrorism charges in U.S. federal courts since the 2001 attacks. Of those, 254 weren’t citizens, and another 148 were foreign born but ended up getting U.S. citizenship through the immigration system.